Another Bakura
by Windy Bakura
Summary: Ryou Bakura, older brother of little Amane, has just died in a car crash. Little Amane has no choice but to inheirit the Millennium Ring and now she has to deal with the abusing yami and a dueling tournament that's coming up...
1. Prologue

I'm back! And guess what?! I don't suck at writing anymore!

**Vinnie**: _blink blink_

Well... not as much as I used to... -.-;;

Okies... I haven't updated any of my stories for the longest time... and I'm starting a new one.  
  
**Vinnie**: Odd...  
  
Very. Anyways... This is just a preview of one of my newer stories and I want to see what everybody thinks of it... so review.  
  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or something of that sort.  
  
_**-----Chapter One-------**_  
  
Imagine your life if you were only living with your dad. Imagine that when you were young, your mom and your older brother died. Pretty horrible right? Maybe you wish that it wouldn't happen to anybody.  
  
It's too late now. It's already happened to me.  
  
Life was pretty good, up until I was seven. That was when my mom got into a car to drive my older brother to school. The road was icy that day, and mom lost control of the car and crashed into a pole, killing herself... and my older brother. My brother was eight when he died... and his name was Ryou Bakura.  
  
It's been eight years since that day, so now I'm fifteen years old. I live with my dad, who's usually not home. He's an archeologist, so I never get to see him much. We always move around, so I don't have any friends.  
  
Maybe I should introduce myself. My name's Amane Bakura. I kind of look like my older brother. If I look into a mirror, I can see the long, white hair me and Ryou had. His was a bit wilder, and mine a bit straighter. I could stare into my brown eyes, which resemble my brother's. You can say that I'm like his twin sister. I don't have my brother's accent though.  
  
I live in Domino City, where my father says that we might stay. I'm glad for that, but not glad of the school uniform I have on currently. It's almost the start of school and I'm looking at myself in the mirror. I hate how the pink makes my skin paler than it already is. The skirt is too short, it makes me feel uncomfortable.  
  
"How can girls wear this?" I wonder aloud before grabbing my backpack and going down the stairs. I go outside and lock the door behind me, since my father is out on an archeological dig. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I walk in the streets, making sure my skirt doesn't show too much of what I don't want to show.  
  
**_----------End of Chapter One------------_**  
  
Blah XD Anyways... I just want to know what everybody thinks of it... and if you like it, I'll try to get the second chapter up ASAP!  
  
But I can't promise anything because I really suck at updating...


	2. Strange Images

Be glad! I updated! XD  
  
Vinnie: Whoopie...  
  
And now I response for my reviewers...  
  
A Neo Okam iNamed Wolfy: O.O You're right, I did kill Ryou. But I still haven't confirmed whether Bakura was going to be in this story or not... -_runs away-_ STOP CRYING!!  
  
Laria: _-glomps-_ You reviewed! You reviewed my story!! _–bops Yani on the head-_ Don't be mean to Laria!  
  
Mikari: _-glomps too-_ You reviewed! Thankies for the comment!  
  
Rowan Girl: O.O Not the fork! Not the fork! I updated!!  
  
Bilbo-sama: Thankies! Lol  
  
Seto's Angel: The first paragraph is actually pretty good... but I'm not really good writing first person stories... Maybe on both of those questions. But they will be answered in this chapter.  
  
Chanson-DeLa-Sirenes: Thankies! I try to update really quickly.  
  
Okies... note for peoples: This is basically how far I've written so far. You'll have to wait a bit longer for the next one... because now I have to edit the things I've written in my notebook to the computer and I'm not really done the second chapter yet.  
  
Oh, and this is an add-on to the beginning.  
  
Cookies to those who read all this!  
  
---Strange Images---  
  
"Class, this is Amane Bakura." The teacher said as I nervously stand in front of them. Color rises to my head as I spot the boys in the classroom checking me out. I'm finally sent to my seat and I spend the whole day moving from class to class, memorizing where they were, listening to the dull voices of the teachers and then finally the day ends.  
  
I head back home quickly, closing the door silently behind me. Then I head up back to my room, dumping my backpack in the corner. I rushed to the closet, opening up the door. My school uniform was quickly replaced with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.  
  
'Comfortable...' I thought, smiling as I grab my backpack and head back downstairs. I set it down on the kitchen table and then I head to the refrigerator, grabbing a snack before heading back to the table. My snack is set on the table before I open my backpack, grabbing my homework among the pile of stuff in there.  
  
I start working on it, and the hours fly by. Then when I finished, I doodled on a piece of paper. I didn't know what my hands were doing, and when I was done I was staring at a drawing of a boy.  
  
Well, not exactly a boy.  
  
'He looks like my brother... except older.' I thought when I examined it closely. It really did look like my brother. The same hair color and style and the brown eyes. Except his eyes was evil looking, glimmering darkly at me. His smirk on his face ran shivers down my spine, and the scar on his left cheek added to his evil look. I turned my eyes away and glanced at the clock.  
  
"11:00 PM" The clock said and I knew that it was time for bed. So I pack up my things and head upstairs, taking the drawing with me. Once in my room I place the drawing on the desk top and go to my bed. I lie down on it and close my eyes, quickly falling into sleep.  
  
-o-

That night I had a dream. The weirdest dream ever. It was only a couple minutes long, but I could remember it vividly in my head.  
  
I was in the middle of a desert and suddenly I see something... the figure of a person. When I looked more closely, I gasped in surprise at how the person looked exactly like the person in my drawing... the same look and all that. But what I found odd was the object around his neck... probably one of the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on.  
  
Tied to the end of a long length of string was a golden ring. It was fairly large and inside of it was a flat pyramid. Embedded in the center of the pyramid was an eye shaped symbol. Attached to the bottom of the ring were three smaller rings, spaced out evenly from each other. Dangling from the rings was a triangular shaped object, each of the rings holding one.  
  
I looked up at the man and saw him smirking before a golden glow blinded me... and then I woke up. I sat up in my bed, the dream flashing through my head many times before I fell asleep again.  
  
-o-I had that dream every single night for the rest of the school year. I brushed it off as nothing... but I didn't realize how it was going to be a big part of my life.  
  
-o-  
  
First chapter done! A billion more to go! O.o;;  
  
Review! 


	3. The Gift

Weee... almost summer time now! I'll have lots of time to write.  
  
Now to answer some reviews...  
  
A Neo Okami named Wolfy: I'll have to think about putting your OC there... although I don't know what I would do with it... XP Can you give me your e- mail address? I tried finidng it... but I failed.  
  
Laria: lol... thankies for reviewing though. And this chapter is another short chapter. XD  
  
Rowan Girl: -_ducks as a fork flies above her head_- AT LEAST I UPDATED!  
  
Mikari: Wee! –_Gives Mikari more cookies_-  
  
Sakura: Thankies! I hope this pleases my reviewers.  
  
**---The Gift---**  
  
It's the summer time now and I head downstairs, feeling the coolness of the air conditioner on my face and body. I jump on the couch, waiting for my father, who called a week earlier saying that he would come home from his archeological dig. Excitement filled my body as I grabbed my sketch book, unable to sit still in my seat. I was unable to sit still enough to finish whatever I was drawing, and so I turn on the TV and start watching it, glancing impatiently at the door every now and then.  
  
What seemed like a billion years later, the sound of a door opening reached my ears, and I look. My smile crept to my face as I see the figure at the doorway and got up, running crazily at the person.  
  
"Daddy!" I cried out, throwing my arms around his neck. He chuckled softly as his arms encircled my waist and hugged me tightly. We remain like that for a couple minutes, before he let go of me and set me down.  
  
"I have something for you." He announced, turning his back on me as his hands dig through his huge bag on the floor. He stood up after a while and turned around, keeping his hands behind his back, hiding the present.  
  
"When I saw it... I thought it was destined for you." He said, smiling at me when he revealed the gift. I gasped when I saw it, as I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  
  
Sitting on my hands was the ring- the Millennium Ring.  
  
**---  
**  
That was short... I'll try writing more next chapter. 


	4. The Dream

Wee! Another chapter finished! XD  
  
**Rowan Girl:** I really hate the fork thing XD  
  
**LariaKaiba:** XD I didn't mean to make it short! It just turned out that way... and Yani... you don't get a cookie because you bother Laria!  
  
Thankies to my reviewers for reviewing! _-points to the two people above-_  
  
**---The Dream---  
**  
I looked up at my father, his smile playing on his face as he waited for a response.  
  
"W-Where'd you get this?" I managed to muster up, mostly concentrating on my breathing. His smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of disappointment.  
  
"I got it at a market stand in Egypt." He replied. Concern crossed his eyes as he asked a question.  
  
"What's wrong Amane?"  
  
I shook my head, telling him quickly that it was nothing. I gave him a quick hug then I headed upstairs, closing my bedroom door silently behind me. My heart thudded rather harshly against my chest as I raced to my desk and tore open the drawers. My hands grabbed my picture of the boy and set it on the table, putting the ring right beside it. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. But it didn't slow, and suddenly the darkness engulfed me. I didn't notice the shimmering golden glow that came from the ring as I fell, my eyes closing before my head hit the ground.

-o-  
  
It was dark. Too dark in fact.  
  
But suddenly I saw light... light coming from a candle. Shock filled my body as the candle's light glowed against the skin of its holder and instantly I knew who he was.  
  
The boy... the boy from the picture.  
  
He looked straight at me, his grin never faltering, and it was like he didn't see me at all. He turned around, walking along the tunnel.  
  
A tunnel? But I was in my room. How'd I get here?  
  
I tried to ask these questions to the boy, but it was like I wasn't even there. He ignored me and just kept walking, forcing me to follow him to wherever he was going.  
  
During our little journey, he kept turning around, as if he was looking out for something. But then he stopped, so I did too, and he looked around. Then he entered a room that was connected to the tunnel. A room that I didn't notice until he entered it and so I peered in.  
  
In the middle of the room stood a table, the surface of it glowing a bright gold because of the object sitting on top of it. I gasped at the sight of it as I realized that the object was the Millennium Ring.  
  
The boy smirked, his eyes clearly showing triumph as he reached for the Ring.  
  
"Stop right there thief!" A deep voice called out from behind us. The boy and I whipped our heads around, eyes spotting a boy who looked about the same age as the other boy.  
  
The accused thief's eyes widened, only for them to narrow to glare at the boy. His smirk grew wider as he opened his mouth to address the boy.  
  
"Why it's the Pharaoh! How nice it is to see you!" He said mockingly, bowing slightly to add to his greeting. The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, clearly not amused by the thief's act.  
  
"Silence thief! I will not let you get your hands on the Millennium Ring! Nor will I tolerate you robbing the tombs of past Pharaohs!" He said.  
  
"And what if I don't stop?" The thief asked softly, his smirk remaining on his face as the Pharaoh opened his mouth to reply.  
  
"Then this will happen." He replied, the pendant around his neck glowing brightly after he spoke. I shielded my eyes as the Ring glowed in response, casting the tiny room into bright, golden light.  
  
"If you want the Ring so much," I heard the Pharaoh began. "Then you shall get it. You will be sealed in the Ring as a spirit for eternity... Only returning when your reincarnation has received it."  
  
Then it turned dark.  
  
-o-  
  
My eyes fluttered open, and I immediately noticed the searing pain shooting up and down my arm. I groaned slightly as I sat up, my hand accidentally resting on something cold and wet. I raised my hand up quickly and peered down, my eyes widening as I saw a knife laying there, the tip stained with blood.  
  
I looked at my arm, noticing a deep cut that ran through my arm. It was still bleeding slightly and I used my other hand to grab a tissue and press it against the wound to stop the bleeding. I instantly noticed that my fingers were stained with my blood and I began to panic, wondering mentally what was going on.  
  
I stood up to head to the bathroom to bandage my wound. But something caught my eye before I took a step. I looked at it and I gasped at what I saw. Someone had drawn something on my picture of the boy, and it wasn't very amusing.  
  
Around the boy's neck was the Millennium Ring... except it was drawn with blood – my blood.  
  
---  
  
End of Chapter Four! Review and maybe I'll update faster!


	5. Bakura

Another chapter up! Yay!  
  
**LariaKaiba:** You can't have cookies Yani!  
  
**A Neo Okami named Wolfy:** I didn't ignore your review. I didn't get a review from you for chapter 3... and I replied to your chapter 2 review in the beginning of that chapter. But thankies for the compliment!  
  
**Sakura:** Wee! takes cookies and starts eating Yes... it's VERY obvious! XD I like cookies too!  
  
**Mikari-Star: **Yes... Kura-kun is being VERY mean.  
  
This is one of my favorite stories so far! And just to inform you all, I'm planning a sequel to this and a sequel to the sequel! So it'll be a trilogy!  
  
**---Bakura---**  
  
I opened my mouth to shriek, but I managed not to so I wouldn't make my dad freak out. I had forgotten about my arm when I saw my ruined drawing, but the pain came back. It seared up my arm and my face grimaced with pain. Obviously it wanted my attention, so I quickly went to the bathroom to fix up my wound. I gently washed it, wincing slightly as the water came in contact with the wound, making it seem like tiny needles were poking my skin.  
  
After I had washed it, I rummaged around the drawers to look for bandages. Then I started wrapping it up.  
  
_Don't wrap it up... I like your blood..._  
  
I froze. Panic filled my body once again as I looked around wildly, trying to find out who said that.  
  
_Don't panic little Amane... I won't hurt you._  
  
I relaxed slightly at his reassuring voice, but I still looked around for the source. But what he said next made me start to panic again.  
  
_Yet._  
  
"Who are you?!" I called out. Nothing but silence answered me back and I immediately thought I was going crazy.  
  
But then he appeared.  
  
He materialized right beside me and my eyes widened, not believing what I saw. He smirked at me, seeing my obvious fear.  
  
"R-Ryou..." I started nervously, not believing who was in front of me, and he started laughing coldly, sending unwanted shivers up my spine. Then he suddenly stopped, smirking slightly as he walked up to me.  
  
"Is that what you think, girl?" He said just as coldly as he laughed, making me shudder.  
  
"Do you really think that I'm your _sweet, caring_ brother?" He asked, putting a great emphasis on the "sweet, caring" that it made me sick.  
  
"W-Who are you?" I asked.  
  
"Well... you could always start with calling me 'master'." He said, his smirk widening at the thought of such a title. I looked up at him, my fear instantly turning into anger at such an idea. But to my surprise, he was gone and I breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Or you could call me Bakura... for a price." He said from behind me. I gasped in pain as I felt a knife getting dragged across my wounded arm, cutting the bandages and the skin underneath it. Blood started dripping down the wound, staining the bandages. But he ripped the bandages off and licked the blood off. He laughed cruelly after he did so and disappeared, not reappearing this time.  
  
I suddenly noticed something heavy around my neck and I looked down at what was causing it. My eyes widened in shock as they saw the Millennium Ring hanging there.  
  
'The Millennium Ring? But how'd it get here?! It was on my desk!' I thought before my wound cried out, pain flowing through my veins. So I was forced to pay attention to it.  
  
_I dwell in here..._  
  
'But why me...' I numbly thought as I bandaged my wounded arm.  
  
_I'm part of you now._  
  
-------  
  
Oooo... and now that I've introduced Bakura... I can get on with the story!  
  
Review! 


	6. Meeting Yugi Moto

I'm so late with this chapter! I had major writer's block on it. Oh well... at least I got it done.  
  
**AyukaRyou:** Thank you for your review! I've skimmed through some of your story and it looks really good. I'll take a look at it sometime.  
  
**Sakura:** Hehehe... Bakura IS nasty... I'm going to make him stay that way throughout the story.  
  
**Mikari-Star:** Interesting indeed...  
  
Bakura- Oww... _–rubs head-  
_  
---Meeting Yugi Moto---  
  
Summer school... what a bore. Of course, skipping Grade 9 without learning anything that you're supposed to learn in that grade is a pretty bad thing too. And dad says I have to learn as much as I can.  
  
I don't know why I wanted to skip Grade 9. I just felt like it was right for me to. At least I didn't have to wear my school uniform in summer school. Or maybe wearing my school uniform was a good thing, because maybe I wouldn't have gotten much attention from the other students.  
  
They kept asking me if I was hot... and I was. I was wearing a wool sweater a hot summer day. Not like I had a choice, because Bakura kept making cuts in my arms and I had to hide them from everyone, or else they would start asking questions and think I'm suicidal.  
  
But I'm not.  
  
_And you're never going to be... aren't you Amane?  
_  
That voice. I hate that voice...  
  
_Why? Because I might **hurt** you again?  
_  
My anger was rising with each passing moment. I just wanted to hit him...  
  
_But you can't Amane. Because you're too **weak.**  
_  
Tears prickled in the back of my eyes as I tried to ignore him and concentrate on my work instead. But I can't. He just keeps talking; saying that I'm weak and that I'm just a tool for his plan.  
  
'What plan?' I mentally spoke at him. He instantly became quiet, not answering even when I sent him the question again. I sent it again one more time.  
  
_Shut up girl. Or you'll find yourself with several more cuts... and not just the arms._  
  
It was me that time that went quiet. I spent the rest of class just working on my work and finally I came back home.  
  
-o-  
  
I sighed for relief as I enter my house, pulling my sweater off my body and throwing it on the couch. My body collapsed on the couch after the sweater, and I laid there, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. The air conditioner breathed on my face and played with my hair and I closed my eyes.  
  
I heard footsteps, and I opened my eyes, gazing down on a pair of sneakers. I paled when I looked up, staring right into the face of Bakura.  
  
"Well well well..." He started, a grin forming on his face. "What do we have here?"  
  
I quickly shot up and tried dashing upstairs, but he grabbed my arm and threw me on the couch. He hovered over me and I felt cold metal against my arm. He dragged the knife down, and pain seared from the wound.  
  
I screamed.  
  
-o-  
  
The rest of the summer goes by... the same scene happening at least once each day. I entered my first class, paler than I usually am because Bakura wouldn't allow me to go outside. My pink school uniform hid the cuts on my arms made by him. My skirt didn't.  
  
"Where'd you get all those cuts?" I looked up and stared into the face of a young boy, who was barely four feet tall and was smiling, his eyes shining with curiosity.  
  
"Oh um... I got them from my brother." I replied, managing to summon a fake smile.  
  
"Oh I see." He said and then we fell into an uncomfortable silence.  
  
"So..." He started, obviously trying to get a conversation started, "I didn't see you last year... are you new here?" I shook my head.  
  
"I came here in January. I skipped Grade 9." I quickly explained, and I saw his eyes light up with amazement.  
  
"Oh wow. You must be really smart then." He exclaimed. "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name's Yugi Moto."  
  
I smiled.  
  
"My name's Amane Bakura."  
  
---  
  
Wee! The plot is getting somewhere now. Review please! 


	7. Duelist Kingdom

Wee! I'm back! Thanks for all the lovely reviews. I had fun writing this chapter.  
  
**LariaKaiba-** Lol... well I think there will be more.  
  
**A Neo Okami named Wolfy-** Dude... just read the past chapter review things. I still don't have your e-mail if I wanted to add your OC in.  
  
**Mikari-Star-** Yup... poor Amane  
  
Bakura: Owww... _–rubs head-_  
  
**Sakura-** Evil is what makes the world go round. XD  
  
Bakura: _-is showered with cookies-_ Cut it out...  
  
**---Duelist Kingdom---**  
  
I stared down at my cards, my eyes narrowing in thought as I tried to figure out my next move.  
  
"Come on already!" A voice called out from across the table. I looked up, seeing a grinning face under a mop full of blonde hair.  
  
"Just give me a second Joey..." I replied, now looking on the playing field to see if I could do something.  
  
_What's this little Amane?  
_  
I bit my lip in an attempt to stop from calling out.  
  
_A game? How interesting..._  
  
I suppressed the urge to tell him to be quiet and I looked back at my cards.  
  
"I play the magic card 'Change of Heart'." I called out, placing said card on the table, smiling slightly as I see Joey adopt a look of shock. I reach over the table, taking Joey's strongest monster and placing it on my side of the field. I called out my attack, watching as Joey sulked while he took the attacked card and sticking it in the graveyard. Yugi looked down on the sheet of white paper, taking off life points from Joey's pile. He looked up after, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"You lose Joey. Amane just beat you. Barely... but she beat you." He announced.  
  
"I WHAT?!" Joey shouted, making Yugi and I cringe. He stood up, looking at the piece of paper holding the life points and then back on the desk, where our cards lied. He stopped when he saw our faces and sheepishly grinned.  
  
"Oh um... sorry 'bout dat." He said. "And congrads Amane. You beat the great Joey Wheela'!"  
  
I giggled softly, collecting my cards and pocketing them.  
  
_Hurry back home Amane... you wouldn't want to be late coming home. Now would you?  
_  
I gulped, grabbing my bag and hurried out of the door. I stopped and ran back, a fake smile plastered on my face.  
  
"Um listen. I have to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye!" I said quickly before dashing out of the store and back to my home.  
  
---  
  
I silently opened the door, closing it behind just as quietly. I tip toed through the hall, depositing my back at the door and looking around with caution. I held my breath involuntary, only to let it out when I realized that he didn't know that I had came home late. I walked up the stairs, opening the door to my bedroom and I gasped.  
  
"You're late."  
  
I fell to my knees, bringing my head down so they touched the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry Bakura-sama."  
  
"Sorry isn't enough to cut it girl."  
  
I looked up, shuddering slightly when I see his face. His grin; I knew he was doing that because he could make me scared. He stood up, playing with the knife in his hands as he looked at me, his brown eyes twinkling with delight.  
  
"But I know what is."  
  
I paled and embraced myself for pain. I bit my lip, trying to prevent me from screaming out loud.  
  
I felt the knife being pressed against my sleeve. He pressed the knife in, digging a small hole in my shirt and cutting the skin. He started moving the knife down as the pain engulfed my body. A shriek shot through my throat and passed my lips, drowning out the sounds of Bakura's sadistic laughter. The knife was taken away from my skin but I didn't notice. I didn't notice anything. I didn't notice when his lips met my wound and began licking the blood off.  
  
The pain was beginning to go away and I opened my eyes, looking down at him. He lifted his head and grinned at me. He licked his lips while he grinned, as if he was mentally telling me that my blood tasted good. I glared at him, pain occasionally flickering across my face as he laughed cruelly again.  
  
Fog began to fill my vision as blood pumped out from the wound. Blood loss was tempting to claim me and I got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as I got up though and took I step forward, my legs involuntarily collapsed from under me, sending me crashing down to the floor.  
  
Then it went black.  
  
---  
  
**Beep... beep... beep...  
**  
I groaned slightly, the noise willing me to escape the clutches of sleep.  
  
**Beep... beep... beep...  
**  
I shifted, my eyes moving underneath the eyelids.  
  
**Beep... beep... beep...**  
  
Slowly, I opened my eyes, blinking several times to get the sleepiness to go away.  
  
**Beep... beep... beep...  
**  
I tried sitting up and pain shot through my arm as I pressed it against the bed, and immediately I lifted it up, my body falling on the bed once more.  
  
**Beep... beep... beep...**  
  
I slowly got up, using my uninjured arm to help me sit up. I looked around and I quickly realized that I was in a hospital. Several wires were connecting on my arm and one was on my chest.  
  
"You're awake?" Someone asked. I swung my head around, meeting the calm face of a pretty nurse, who immediately removed the wire on my chest. The beeping stopped.  
  
"H-How'd I get here?" I asked.  
  
"I don't know sweetie... I don't know. You got a package though." She replied, pointing to the desk. A brown package sat upon it, the wrapping screaming 'open me'. So I took the box and began opening it.  
  
Inside was a postcard. I lifted it up, turning it over to read what it said.  
  
**'Dear Ms Bakura,  
  
You are invited to participate in Mr. Maximillion Pegasus' dueling tournament. The box contains your dueling glove along with two star chips. These two star chips are what you need to enter the ship that will take you to the island where the tournament is taking place. The ship will leave on September 22nd at approximately 7:00 pm.  
  
All information about the tournament will be given to you as you sail to the island.  
  
From,  
  
Maximillion Pegasus'  
**  
I gently put the card down and rummaged through the box, finding the glove and star chips mentioned in the post card.  
  
_A dueling tournament? How interesting..._  
  
Very interesting indeed.  
  
---  
  
Wee! End of chapter 7! Amane gets to go to Duelist Kingdom... I wonder what will happen. If I think about it actually... I can safely say it will probably end in about 10-15 chapters. But knowing me, it'll probably be WAY longer than that. XD  
  
Reviews please! 


	8. First Duel

Here comes another chapter! Just to let you guys know though, I am going to Vancouver on July 31st. I'm not due to come back in 2-3 weeks... so there might be no new chapter uploaded during that time. I'm still going to write this story though, because I have my notebook with me. So if I'm lucky, I can use my cousin's computer and type out the next chapter. So bear with me guys!  
  
**LariaKaiba:**_ -huggles-_ I miss you Laria! And no, you haven't said it... Yani did though.  
  
**Sakura:** I hope I don't screw up... XD I don't remember all the details about Duelist Kingdom. XD I'll just wing it. _–eats cookies happily-_  
  
Bakura: -is glomped- O.o;  
  
**Mikari-Star:** Wee! Amane's going to DK!_ –dances-_  
  
Bakura: Stop it! _–is kicked-  
_  
**A Neo Okami named Wolfy:** XD I like calling people dude, regardless of gender. Sorry if I offended you. What do you mean by 'download'? And what does it say when you try to? I wouldn't mind if you gave me details about Kitsu, I might have a role for him to play if you wouldn't mind. Mary-Sues are people (usually girls) that are perfect in every way and has the author's favorite character(s) fall in love with that person. And I know what being 12 feels like. I'm 13 now... but I was 12 about 2 months ago.  
  
Read and enjoy this chapter!  
  
**---First Duels---**  
  
As I stood on the dock of the boat, a small smile flickered across my face and I closed my eyes, feeling the wind rush by, only stopping to play with my hair. I savored the moment of peace, since I didn't get much of it in the company of Bakura.  
  
He snickered in the back of my mind –a soul room he had called it. I shuddered at the thought of what could be, and probably was, inside his soul room and banished it, only to be replaced by thoughts of the tournament.  
  
I sighed, staring up into the starry sky above me. While the one million dollar prize made many people whisper to each other in excitement, I didn't move an inch. It didn't interest me much, nor would I want to explain how I got so much money to my father, who didn't give me permission to go.  
  
_It's not like you needed it Amane..._  
  
I decided to ignore him; not to comment on his remark. But secretly, I knew it was true. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, illuminated by the glow of the moon. I decided then that it was time for me to get some sleep, so I softly walked back to my room.  
  
I lied on my bed, eyes open, watching the shadows that were cast by the moon's glow. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Bakura wasn't going to come after me today. Or at least, I hoped not.  
  
He never did come though, and I fell into a peaceful sleep.  
  
-o-  
  
I woke up the next day. It was a good sunny day, and I was informed that the ship was going to dock very soon. I smiled as I lifted up a piece of bread from my backpack, nibbling a bit at the time as I waited.  
  
In a couple hours, the ship docked, and everybody got off the ship. They crowded around an area with a TV, and then it turned on.  
  
Maximillion Pegasus was in that screen, and he briefly explained the rules of the tournament.  
  
We started out with two starchips; mine were in my pocket. Then we would duel the other competitors, wagering our starchips as we dueled. If you got ten of these small stars, then you would travel to the castle in the center of the island and only then would you pass the preliminary round.  
  
I started walking around after the screen turned off, looking in search of my first duel. A guy tapped me on the shoulder and when I turned around he smiled at me, asking me if I wanted to duel him. I smiled back, nodding my head and following him to a dueling arena. My heart leaped with a familiar excitement which only triggered when I dueled.  
  
I was about to have my first duel. And I was going to win it.  
  
---  
  
It's kind of short. XD Oh well... I'll improve on length next time!  
  
Wee! It's dueling time for Amane! I don't know if I want to use my deck or spend tedious hours looking at what cards Bakura has. XD  
  
Things to include in your review today: a) Whether to use my deck, or use Bakura's deck  
  
And if you want me to add your character in my story (probably in some later sequel or something), then you can e-mail me! My e-mail's in my bio because they won't let me put it in without removing it. 


	9. Duel

Wee! New chapter! I didn't know that I would be here during this week. Turns out my dad had another week of work so we went to Vancouver on the weekend and returned on Monday. I'm going back out on Tuesday, and I think I won't be back until the 28th of August.  
  
**Firekitti:** Thankies a lot. Hope you like this chapter.  
  
**A Neo Okami named Wolfy:** Hmmm... that's odd. I actually don't know how to fix it... sorry 'bout that. I'll go read if you put the story up soon. I'm the oldest of 2... does that count?  
  
**Sakura:** Short... but hopefully this chapter will make up for it.  
  
**Mikari:** Yup... he sure wasn't.  
  
Bakura _-blinks at cookie-_  
  
**Laria:** Wee! You'll see what I picked.  
  
**---Duel---  
**  
The lights flashed across the arena, casting the stadium into pale light. I looked around me in awe as the arena came to life. I looked up at the boy, who was across on the red side of the arena, and he seemed to be impressed by it as well. I took my deck out and shuffled it, placing it on the table in front of me. Light came streaming though my deck underneath the dark table and somewhere else, which shocked me quite a bit.  
  
"Hey girl!" The boy called out, grabbing my attention and I looked up into his grinning face. "What's your name?"  
  
I smiled back at him. "Amane. And yours?"  
  
"Ken... and I'm one of the best duelists in my hometown!" He bragged, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes as we each drew five cards.  
  
"Are we betting two starchips?" I asked, and he nodded. So I took out the starchips in my pocket and set them on the table.  
  
"Lady's first." Ken said, his body going to a fake bow that I couldn't help but laugh at. I drew my card and looked at my hand.  
  
Change of Heart, Sangan, Queen's Double, Waboku, Dancing Fairy and Dreamsprite. I cringed. It wasn't a very good hand to start with, but I still had to play something.  
  
"I play Sangan in defense mode!" I called out, smiling as the monster came out on the arena in a bright flash of light. It curled itself into a ball, and I looked as Ken drew his card.  
  
"I summon Garnecia Elefantis to the field!" He shouted, and a giant elephant emerged from the playing field. "And to raise its attack, I'll equip Malevolent Nuzzler to it, bringing his attack to a grand total of 3100! Garnecia Elefantis, attack Sangan!"  
  
Bright, white light came flashing across my face and I shut my eyes, only opening them when the light disappeared. Smoke covered the field and when it disappeared, my monster was gone. I smiled, for that was exactly what I wanted him to do.  
  
"Now I get to search my deck for a monster that has 1500 attack points or less." I said, picking up my deck and searching it. I took Grey Wing out of my deck and placed it in my hand, shuffling the deck and putting it back in its original spot. Now it was my turn. I drew a card and when I looked at the card my eyes widened. Kuriboh?! But that was Yugi's card. How'd I get it?  
  
_It's time for me to play now, girl.  
_  
Suddenly black filled my vision and I collapsed, my eyes closing in the process. When I woke up, I was stuck in a room.  
  
-o-  
  
I grinned sadistically as I took over the girl's body. Finally; a chance to use this girl's body to get revenge on the pharaoh. I got up and looked at the boy, whose eyes widened in fear when he had saw the girl collapse right before I had taken over her body. I pretended to shake my head slightly as I willed the Millennium Ring to glow slightly, and soon it transformed the arena into a shadow duel.  
  
When the Ring stopped glowing I smiled at the boy. It was fake though; I just wanted to convince the boy that I was ok. Then I looked down at my hand, and my eyes narrowed. Pathetic girl; couldn't even make a useful deck.  
  
"I play Grey Wing in attack mode. And I'll play this face down." I called out, cringing slightly at the sound of the girl's voice replacing my male voice. I placed the monster on the field, and Waboku face down on another space. I looked at the boy's eyes, hoping for some sort of reaction. I got it, as curiosity and cautiousness crossed his eyes as he drew his card.  
  
He frowned at his hand, as if he wasn't happy with it at all.  
  
"I play the magic card Convulsion of Nature!" He said, placing it down beside his Malevolent Nuzzler. My deck glowed white and when it disappeared I saw the card on the top of my deck; Barrel Dragon. I looked up, trying not to let my confusion show in my eyes. He took the novelty of explaining it anyways.  
  
"Confused? Well, Convulsion of Nature has us turn our decks upside down and we play like that. So we both know what each other's next cards will be." He said, smirking.  
  
I looked at his deck and saw the magic card Lightning Blade.  
  
"It's still my turn! Garnecia Elefantis, attack Amane's Grey Wing!" Ken called out. His elephant raised its sword and jumped at my dragon.  
  
"Tsk tsk. I wouldn't purposefully leave my Grey Wing in attack mode. Activate trap card, Waboku!" I replied calmly as the card rose up and summoned three cloaked figures which blocked the attack aimed at my dragon. He glared at me and I smiled as innocently as I could.  
  
"My turn now." I said, drawing Barrel Dragon and placing it in my hand.  
  
"I play Queen's Double in defense mode. And I also switch Grey Wing to defense mode as well." I said, trying to conceal my smirk as I saw beads of sweat along Ken's forehead. The shadows were doing their work, and soon it would be over for him. He drew his card, breathing rather heavily as he did.  
  
"I summon Electric Lizard to the field in defense mode. Garnecia Elefantis, attack Grey Wing!" He called out, but as the elephant lifted his heavy weapon to prepare to strike, he fell. He came tumbling down onto the grass below the arena, cards splayed out all over him. The platform started moving back down, and after it stopped I grabbed the girl's cards and stepped onto the grass. I moved to the boy's unconscious form, smirking slightly.  
  
"I guess you lose. But don't worry; the shadows will take good care of you." I said as the Ring glowed eerily. The boy's eyes snapped open, widening before they closed slightly, his once sparkling brown eyes a now dull, lifeless pair. My smirk grew wider as I went up on his platform and grabbed his deck, flipping through his cards swiftly. A sadistic smile grew on my face as a plan began to form inside my head.  
  
It was time to get revenge on the pharaoh.  
  
---  
  
Wee! Reviews please. 


	10. Bakura vs Yami: Duel of the Century

**Hey guys! I'm back! And because I haven't updated in two weeks, this is an extra long chapter.**

**Liviania: Thank you! I hope this is up to your length standards.**

**Sakura: Just in time! I just didn't manage to finish before you went to bed.**

**Mikari: As the authoress, writing duels are a pain in the butt.**

**LariaKaiba: Yup, I got your review.**

**Blue Talon Dragon: Haha... I guess you haven't read Laria's stories. Thank you for your compliments and the fact that you've added me to your favorite author's list.**

**So, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it!**

**---Bakura vs. Yami; Duel of the Century---**

_Amane..._

Ugh. Just leave me alone...

_Amane..._

Ok, ok. I'm waking up. Just please be quiet...

_Wake up girl._

The annoyance in his voice immediately makes me get up, dizziness rushing to my head as a consequence of my action. Where was I? I shook my head, trying to get the dizziness to pass. And when it did, I got up slowly, examining my surroundings. I was still on the island; that was for sure.

I decided to wander around, not wanting to duel after what had happened last time.

Wait, what **did** happen when I was dueling?

Panic began to bubble up inside of me, wondering whether Bakura had done anything to the duelist while I was unconscious. I looked up at the sky; it was getting darker with every passing minute.

The sun steadily disappeared behind the mountains; darkness taking light. I continued walking, as the sight of light ahead of me grew bigger. Dark figures were standing around the light, and I saw one of them walk away from the group. As I neared closer, I realized that the figures were ones of Yugi, Téa, Tristan and Joey. They stared at me and realized that it was me.

"I told you I saw Amane." Téa said to the others as they welcomed me. I smiled and sat down, and we stayed up talking.

"So guys, what's your favorite card?" Yugi asked, looking at Téa first, who blushed a bit, winning a small glare from me. She looked through her deck, her eyes lighting up as she took one card out of it.

"My favorite card is the Magician of Faith!" She announced, getting responses of '**That** card?!' and 'That's such a weak card!' from Joey and Tristan.

_Interesting..._

"Well, what's your favorite card?" I asked Joey, trying to ignore Bakura as I watched Joey rummage through his deck.

"Woo! Look at this! The Flame Swordsman!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

_Very interesting indeed..._

"And yours Tristan?" I asked, forcing a smile on my face as he looked through his cards.

"My Cyber Commander can beat Joey's card any day!" He said, getting a glare from Joey and a brief protest.

_Perfect..._

"Yugi?" I asked, watching as he smiled and looked through his deck.

"My favorite card is the Dark Magician obviously." He said, holding it up for all of us to see.

_Even more perfect..._

"What's your favorite card Amane?" Yugi asked me loudly, trying to drown out the noise of Tristan and Joey's squabbling.

I took out my deck and leafed through it, my eyes widening at the cards in my deck.

'Bakura, what did you do to my deck?' I asked him as I saw cards like 'Man Eater Bug' and 'Electric Lizard' among the pile; cards that I never had in my deck before.

_I just... improved it. That's all._

I bit my lip as I continued looking through my deck, looking for at least one card that was in my original deck. Happiness filled my body and killed some of the fear inside of me as I saw a card that I recognized.

"Um... my favorite card would have to be Change of Heart." I said, smiling as I showed the card to the group. Yugi asked what it did, and so I tried to answer it as best I could.

"I can choose one of the opponent's monster and use it for one turn." I replied as a look of awe crossed Yugi's purple eyes. I smiled back at him, suggesting a friendly duel between me and Yugi, with all four cards in Yugi's deck.

"Are you sure Amane? I mean, four against one isn't really all that fair..." Yugi started, which was followed by Joey, who said the exact same thing. I shook my head and with slight hesitation, Yugi and the others headed to a log, where we would duel.

_Thank you girl, for giving me the change to get revenge of the Pharaoh._

The Millennium Ring glowed underneath my sweater, and I felt myself being pushed back into the depths of my mind.

-o-

I grinned sadistically as I emerged from the Ring; its glow dulling slightly. Yugi stared at the Ring in shock, obviously not noticing the sudden change of looks.

'Time to make this interesting...' I thought to myself as the Ring began its golden glow. I looked up, managing to see fear in Yugi and his friend's eyes as they were sent to the Shadow Realm.

I stood up, walking slowly to the soulless group.

"Well, that was easy." I said, bending over Yugi's fallen form to get the Puzzle... and to get my revenge on the Pharaoh. The object glowed as my fingers neared it, and I had to shield my eyes as the light blinded me. When the glowing stopped, I lowered my arm. Before me stood the Pharaoh, glaring down at me.

"I will not let you take the Puzzle without a fight! If I win, then you'll have to give me back my friends." He said, taking out his deck and setting it down on the playing field. I took out mine, heading back to my original spot and placing the deck on my side of the playing field.

"And if I win, then I'll send your soul to the Shadow Realm. And then I'll take your Puzzle." I laughed harshly as we drew our cards, flashing a sadistic grin at the Pharaoh before I looked down at my hand. A silence grew between us, and the Pharaoh was the one to break it.

"Why did you send them to the Shadow Realm?" I had to roll my eyes at how clueless the Pharaoh was.

"I am the thief of souls, Pharaoh. I strive to collect all seven Millennium Items and have power that no one's ever dreamed of. And I'm going to start with yours." I replied, grinning at him as his look turned into one of anger.

"I play Cyber Commander!" The Pharaoh announced, putting the card on the field and watching as the figurine appeared before us. I smirked as I saw the shocked look on his face when he had seen his best friend Tristan, who was dressed in the card's outfit, appearing instead of the monster. Something must have clicked in the Pharaoh's mind, because I had caught a glimpse of realization in his face.

I drew my card, glancing at it before setting it down.

"I play White Magical Hats in attack mode! White Magical Hats, attack Cyber Commander!" I commanded, grinning widely as I sent Tristan to the graveyard. The Pharaoh glared at me as he drew a card out of his deck. He played Flame Swordsman, brief shock appearing on face when he saw Joey dressed up as the Flame Swordsman. He attacked my only monster, bringing my lifepoints down to 1200.

I calmly drew my card, placing Morphing Jar face down on the field and I looked up at the Pharaoh with my unwavering gaze. He didn't look up and I noticed he seemed to be deep in conversation with Joey after he had drawn his card.

"No! Wait Joey!" The Pharaoh yelled as the swordsman headed to attack my face down monster. I smirked as I flipped it over, revealing the jar to the Pharaoh.

"Now we have to discard our hands and draw new ones." I told him, placing my hand in the graveyard and picking up as many as I had discarded. I drew another card, since it was my turn, and placed another Morphing Jar face down in the same position. I also placed a trap card face down.

"I play Monster Reborn, to bring back Cyber Commander!" The Pharaoh announced as the monster mentioned re-appeared on the field, "And I also play Dark Magician!"

A small figure, shorter than the usual Dark Magician, appeared. Its tri-colored hair stuck out in many places as he looked around, confused. Yugi turned around, looking curiously at his counterpart as they began a short conversation. Then the Dark Magician turned around, confidence in his eyes as he held up his staff, sending powerful magic towards my face down monster. Once again, I smirked as I revealed the card and, again, we discarded our hand and drew new ones.

I drew a card from my deck, and placed Electric Lizard face down on the field. Then I flipped over my trap card, Just Desserts, sending the Pharaoh's lifepoints down to 500 and leaving him winded.

After a few minutes, he drew his card and played his own monster face down, along with another card, which was face down as well. He commanded Yugi to attack my face down card, and revealed it as the Electric Lizard. My sadistic laughter filled the air as electricity covered the magician, leaving him immobile for one turn. I chuckled cruelly as I drew my next card, placing another monster face down.

"To give you a chance _Pharaoh_, I'll tell you what this card is. It's Man Eater Bug, and if you attack it, I have to power to send one of your monsters to the graveyard." I smirked as the Pharaoh paled, his face grave. All three monsters on the field turned to the Pharaoh, and they began a conversation.

A couple minutes later, they turned back, and the Pharaoh revealed his trap card; horn of heaven. Joey ran up and leaped at me, slashing my beast as the trap card took its effect and destroyed my monster, not giving me a change to use its effect. I laughed, wondering how the Pharaoh decided to sacrifice one of his _friends_.

"You do realize, Pharaoh, that there is no way to revive him now. You've already used Monster Reborn." I stated, my smirk growing wider. The Pharaoh's face held no emotion as I looked at him and then suddenly, a face down card on his side of the field began glowing. A card materialized right in front of the Pharaoh, and he looked at it in shock. But then he grinned as he grabbed it and he placed Monster Reborn on the field, bringing back the once fallen swordsman.

"I can't believe you Pharaoh," I said, grabbing the Pharaoh's attention and wiping the smile off his face, "You'd rather save your friends than win the duel. That's pathetic."

He didn't reply, just merely looking at me and waiting for me to take my turn. I sneered at him, drawing my card as I did and placing Lady of Faith on the field.

"Yugi!" I called out, diverting the attention of the Dark Magician to me, "When I use this card in my hand, I'll have you destroy your own friends."

Yugi looked shock as I played the Change of Heart card. But nothing could prepare me for what was about to come...

-o-

I felt like I was being pulled to another dimension. Kind of like being sucked into a vortex or something. The light; it was blinding. But slowly it faded, and I opened my eyes. Light sparkled around me, and I felt powerful wings open behind me.

Wait, I had wings?

I blinked, the blurriness that had filled my eyes slowly disappearing. Cautiously, I looked around, noticing the soft material of my robes flowing around me, the wings attached to my back, twitching slightly. One wing was black and had a leathery look, the other white, adorned with feathers that made me imagine the softness of it. My bare feet touched the dirty field as I began to notice Yugi and his friends in the other side of it.

_Girl, take control of the magician._

I looked behind me, the image of a glaring and angry yami crossing my eyes. I looked back at the group and glanced at the monster card on my side of the field. During a brief moment, I considered each option and its pros and cons.

I knew what I had to do.

Mustering every ounce of courage in me, I moved to the Magician of Faith, entering its body. Suddenly, I was adorned in different clothes and I spread my arms, closing my eyes before opening them again. I ignored all the messages sent by Bakura through the mind link and I opened my mouth to speak.

"Yugi, attack me."

The Dark Magician opened his mouth to protest, but I quickly cut in before he said anything.

"Do it. And then you'll stop my yami and save yourselves."

Yugi, his face deep with thought, turned around and conversed with Yami. A few minutes later, the Millennium Puzzle glowed with a powerful brightness that I had to shield my eyes with my arms.

As the light faded away, I felt myself in yet another set of clothes and I quickly opened my eyes. There I was, in my own body and Bakura was in the body of the Magician of Faith. Yugi grinned at me as he raised his staff, sending a blast of magic towards the shocked yami, winning the duel and sending everyone else back to their respective bodies. I stood up, collecting my cards before I did so and walked to the group, Yugi being the only one awake.

"I'm sorry." I said as he gave me a smile and accepted my apology.

"Where'd you get the Millennium Ring, Amane?" Yugi asked, and an image of the scene of my father giving me the Ring flashed through my head before I answered.

"My father, he bought the Ring from a stand in Egypt. When he gave it to me, he said I was destined to have it." I received nods of understanding from him, and I gave him a small smile. The group, excluding Yugi, slowly stood up and complained about a bad dream that involved a duel between me and Yugi. We exchanged awkward smiles, mentally deciding that

The happy moment was quickly shattered by a scream that pierced the air and we quickly race there, my heart feeling somewhat lighter. At least I know now that Bakura won't be in my life anymore.

Or at least, that's what I had thought.

---o---

**Writing duels is a pain in the butt. Hope you guys liked it and it wasn't too repetitive. Reviews please!**


	11. Gone and Back Again

Hey guys! This is the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to update... but this is my longest chapter to date, so enjoy it.

This will be the third last chapter. Yup, I'll be ending this story in two more chapters. But don't fret, I already have a sequel planned.

I'm glad you guys liked the duel scene. It was my hardest chapter to write, since I don't like writing duels that much. I'm sorry that I supposedly left so much out of the duels, I haven't watched that episode since forever.

I'm sorry if this chapter seems rushed, but Amane doesn't really do anything interesting in the next ten or so episodes... so I had to just rush through it.

I'm sticking the pairings I'm thinking of in this chapter, but it might or might not turn out that way. Have fun reading.

---**Gone and Back Again---**

Bakura was gone.

I repeated that through my head in happiness, even though the scream we had heard just moments ago was anything but that. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from my heart and my back. I felt free and happy, happier than I had ever been before, even before I had gotten the Ring. I had truly believed that Bakura was gone forever.

That's why it surprised me when he came back.

The next few hours went by quickly, but I'm able to recall some of the events. The scream turned out to be from Mai, who had lost a duel against Panik, one of the eliminators of the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Yugi had kindly stepped up to get back Mai's starchips, and a duel began between the eliminator and the competitor.

During that duel, I couldn't shake out the feeling of restlessness and anxiety that was beginning to form inside me. I began to feel nervous and scared for some unknown reason. I glanced behind my back several times as if something was going to pop out behind me at any moment.

I sighed inaudibly. This nervousness was getting to my head, and I didn't even know the cause of it. I looked up, just in time to see Yugi deal the winning blow to his opponent. I smiled, and then yelled in celebration. He turned to look at us, and then flashed a grin at us, making me blush slightly.

-o-

That night, when Joey, Tea and Tristan were sleeping, Yugi and I were talking.

"Look Yugi," I said, taking out my Millennium Ring. The points on the Ring was headed to the direction of Pegasus' castle, "It's like it's being drawn to something there, much like when it was pointing towards your Millennium Puzzle at school." Yugi nodded in agreement.

"It's probably attracted to other Millennium Items. I had always sensed a strong presence within my Puzzle." Yugi commented, and I nodded in understanding.

We continued talking, only stopping when a helicopter flew above us and landed in a clear area beside us, waking up the sleeping group. As the helicopter engine started to dull, the door opened, and Seto Kaiba appeared before us. He hopped down from the helicopter, his landing softened by the grass. He straightened himself and just merely looked at us with slight interest. Yugi went up to him, handing the CEO his deck, and then held a conversation with him. Snippets of the conversation were heard by me. Like 'I don't need your help.' and I heard someone mention 'naive'.

Joey stepped up to join the heated conversation with Kaiba and Yugi, and soon a duel began between Joey and Kaiba. I only paid a mild attention, my interest heightening when Kaiba threw a disc-like object towards the blonde, catching him off guard for a split second.

"What's this for?!" Joey demanded, looking at the disc in confusion. Kaiba quickly explained what it was used for, and how to use it and soon the duel began. I paid only mild attention to it as the uneasiness came washing over me again and I found myself in a cold sweat.

I quickly turned my eyes back to the duel, finding it somewhat uninteresting. The duel ended quickly, Kaiba being the winner, and I watched as Joey fell on his knees, staring at the ground with a shocked-like look on his face.

Téa headed towards the shaken blonde, but Yugi stepped up first, demanding why Kaiba had to humiliate Joey so badly. Kaiba had briefly supplied us the answer before getting into the topic of Pegasus and how powerful of a duelist he would be.

He explained that a little while ago, Pegasus had invited him to a tournament in New York City as his guest. He had watched Pegasus go up against the champion in the tournament, Bandit Keith. Keith had thought that he was winning, but he mentioned that it seemed like Pegasus was just toying with him. Well, he was. Later, he had made a remark of an average kid beating Keith. He took out a piece of paper, writing down something on it. Then he called out a kid from the audience, giving him the piece of paper and telling him to follow the instructions. It had turned out that Pegasus was right, and the kid beat Keith.

Kaiba went on, explaining that Pegasus had predicted Keith's next moves, much to their dismay. Yugi and I both glanced at each other, knowing what exactly Pegasus had used to predict the moves. Kaiba turned away, heading back to his helicopter, and Yugi said that he still didn't understand why he had to humiliate Joey. The CEO ignored Yugi's words, just walking away towards the castle in the middle.

We stand there, just watching the spot where Kaiba had walked away from. An uneasy silence came over us, Téa being the one breaking it, loudly announcing that they might want to get some sleep. We all nodded in agreement and slowly made our way back to our bags, settling down beside them and quickly falling asleep.

-o-

In the morning, we all slowly woke up to the image of the bright sun and the sound of Joey's loud protests. As I looked around, it seemed like he didn't get enough sleep, because he looked quite tired. I opened my mouth to speak, but decided against it, since I didn't want to bother him. Téa found a note from Mai, stating that she would repay Yugi for the starchips he got back for her.

"There shouldn't be many duelists left now, since a lot of them were probably kicked out by the other competitors." I commented, quickly being countered by Tristan, who reassured the others that Joey and Yugi would get into the finals.

"Be careful Joey. The duels we fight now are going to be tougher than ever." Yugi warned Joey, whose eyes reflected a look of weakness. Yugi looked shocked at his companion's reaction, and quickly added that he was confident enough that they'll both get into the finals. We all smiled, and continued talking, except for me. My body was still held in a state of nervousness, and my heart raced quickly. I found myself breathing deeply to try and calm myself down, but my efforts failed.

I looked up in time to see Joey leave the group, saying that he's going for a walk. Yugi tells him to be careful, and Joey responded with his usual cheesy grin before turning back and heading off. The rest of us decide to just sit around and relax for a bit, so we all went off doing our own stuff.

-o-

A couple hours later, and everybody but Joey grouped back together. Téa voiced out her concern about Joey's absence, which we were all wondering about. So we decided to look for him. It didn't take long for Téa to find Joey's wallet, which was lying near the waterfall. We decided to venture into the cave beside the waterfall, where we found coffins containing skeletons in them. I freaked out, screaming meekly and jumping behind Yugi's small body.

"It's all right Amane. They're fake." Yugi said, laughing at my embarrassing reaction. I blushed, moving away from Yugi as Tristan noticed something on the skeletons.

"Gotcha." It said, and I glared at it. We continued on, bringing my fuming self with them.

As we ventured through the cave, I stared down at the ground and noticed that my shoelace was untied. So I bent down to tie it, forgetting that Yugi and the gang was still walking ahead of me, not noting that I had stopped. Right after I had finished tying my shoe, a skeleton dropped on top me and I froze. Slowly, I turned my head to see what was on my back, and was met with the image of a white skeleton skull. I screamed loudly, and began running the way I was facing – straight.

In my blind state of panic, I didn't notice Yugi and the others staring at my running form as I tripped and fell right in front of them. I closed my eyes, breathing heavily as the skeleton was taken off my back. I opened my eyes, smiling meekly at the sympathetic faces of the others, muttering a quiet 'Hi', getting a laugh from them. I got up, brushing the dirt off my skirt before we continued.

After a few minutes, we met a fork in the path. The others stopped, wondering which way to go, while I walked to catch up to them. As I walked, I stepped on something and my foot sunk into it, and I jumped slightly. I looked down, seeing a small plate that jutted out from the ground a little. I looked up, and then around me, trying to figure out what I had just stepped on. A little rumbling sound behind me caught my ear, and I turned around, my eyes widening at the sight of a huge boulder come straight towards me.

I screamed, and started running for my life. Yugi and the others turned around, seeing the huge boulder threatening to squish us flat, and started running too. I guess I wasn't fast enough, because I was suddenly run over by the boulder, turning my vision black.

-o-

Darkness.

Silence.

... Is this how it is when you're dead?

"Amane..." A voice calmly says, as if to lure me from the dead. I felt myself being shaken by somebody. I stir, and I quickly find myself lying on the ground. I slowly sit up, looking around as the images spin around the vision, finally focusing properly.

"... I'm I... dead?" I asked timidly, receiving a laugh from the others, who shook their heads.

"So... what happened?"

"It turned out that the boulder was just an inflatable ball. It burst when Tristan touched it." Yugi explained, giving me a sympathetic smile. I slowly got up, following the others, who started walking again.

-o-

We soon made it to the arena, and saw Joey dueling a strange looking guy. It turned out that he was called Bones, and the guy behind him, who was giving him the battle strategy, was Bandit Keith, the guy Kaiba was talking about. At first, Yugi had tried to convince Joey to stop dueling, but that would mean he would forfeit the match, and loose the starchips he had betted.

The duel ended a little while after we had arrived. Joey had won the duel, pulling a great comeback in just one move and destroying Bone's monsters, eliminating him from the rest of his lifepoints.

We congratulated Joey as we headed out of the cave, only to find that Bandit Keith and his goons had sealed the entrance with a huge boulder. A real boulder this time.

"What now?" I asked, sighing a little before looking down at the ground.

"We'll have to find a way out." Téa said, her optimistic personality giving everybody the motivation to smile a little. We headed back where the duel arena was, seeing if there was another path somewhere. There was, and we followed it.

Suddenly, my Millennium Ring glowed brightly, its arrows pointing in a certain direction. I looked at Yugi, who suggested that we follow where the Ring guides us. But I wasn't so certain. I decided to take the risk anyways, since there weren't many choices to choose from anyway. So we began following the Ring's path, silently praying that it would lead us out of here and into Pegasus' castle.

As we walked through the caves, Téa starts up a conversation, announcing that the caves had been man-made, and that it was probably by Pegasus. Nobody got a chance to answer though, for we had reached an opening that illuminated bright light. We went through it, and found ourselves in a large room; a dueling arena in the center of it. On the opposite side of the arena were two bald men, grinning at us.

They introduced themselves as Para and Dox, and that we'd have to duel them to get out of the cave. Yugi stepped out to duel them, but they also mentioned that it would be a two on two match.

"Joey, do you want to duel with me?" Yugi asked, looking at him. Joey agreed rather loudly, jumping on top of the dueling station and taking out his deck. Para and Dox quickly explained how the duel would work, and started the duel.

The moves that the duelers did were dead even. At one point, it had look like Joey and Yugi had the upper hand. But when Para and Dox showed their most powerful monster in their deck, Gate Guardian, it had looked like their fate was sealed. But Yugi and Joey worked together, and fused Yugi's Summoned Skull with Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon, creating Black Skull Dragon. The duel looked like it was anybody's game, but Yugi and Joey managed to win.

Now it was time for Yugi to pick which door would lead us out. We all held our breath as Yugi took out a coin, and flipped it. It landed on Dox's sign, meaning that we picked Para's door. But to our dismay, the brothers announced that Dox's door was indeed the right one. Yugi came to our rescue though, saying that whatever we'd pick would be wrong, since the brothers had the power to switch which way the path was.

Shocked that he had figured out their secret, the brothers let us through the door and, hopefully, out of the tunnels.

-o-

A little bit later, our eyes met the wonderful sight of the sun, and we basked in it. Everybody rejoiced, and started heading to Pegasus' castle. I glanced back, noticing that Téa was a little bit behind us, her eyes looking like they were looking through us. She snapped back into reality though, and ran up to catch up with us.

When we reached the stairs, Tristan, Joey and I slowly made our way up them. But then we noticed that Yugi and Téa weren't following us, so the two called out for them, telling them to hurry up.

As we reached the top of the stairs, we were surprised to see Kaiba, just standing there and waiting for something or someone. Yugi greeted him, only getting a stern look in response. Then he opened his mouth, challenging Yugi to a duel. Yugi looked shocked, and was hesitant about agreeing to the match, only to get taunted by Kaiba, who was calling him a coward. Joey glared at Kaiba, announcing that he would duel him, but was held back by me and Tristan, who reminded him about what happened the last time they had dueled.

Kaiba appeared slightly amused and shocked when he realized that Joey had ten star chips, but snidely said that he understood the heart of the cards. Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed, and accepted the duel. Everybody made their way up to the roof to watch the duel.

The beginning of the duel was kind of dull, the moves being matched with the other's moves. Téa cheered for Yugi, and all of us were sure he was going to win. But Yugi didn't look so sure, and I mentally wondered why.

It looked like the duel's winner would be sealed when Kaiba played the crush trap card, allowing Yugi to only play monsters with less than 1500 attack points. And when Kaiba fused all three of his Blue Eyes White Dragons together, creating the ultimate beast, it looked like Yugi was going to lose for sure. But the look on his face was one of confidence, and we all kept cheering Yugi on as he made his comeback.

Yugi had played his Kuriboh card, despite getting laughed at by Kaiba. When he was attacked, he played the Multiply card, and his one Kuriboh formed into hundreds of the little fuzz balls. The attack had wiped out some of his army, but more kept appearing. Yugi drew his card, playing Mammoth Graveyard on the field and fusing it with Kaiba's Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon with the Living Arrow magic card, resulting in Kaiba's monster decaying every turn.

When it seemed like Yugi was going to win the duel, Kaiba decided to make things unfair and stepped onto the ledge of the building, telling Yugi that if he attacks, the shockwaves of the aftermath would send him falling to his death. Yugi looked shocked at Kaiba's decision, and struggled whether to attack or not. It seemed like Yugi was going to take the risk and ordered to attack, getting a gasp of surprise from Téa.

The next couple seconds passed by so slowly. Téa had started running towards Yugi, shouting for him to not stop the attack. It looked like Yugi had just realized someone, staring wide-eyed at Téa, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes as he told the Celtic Guardian to stop. He did, sword still raised before one of the heads of Kaiba's dragon opened its mouth, launching its attack and destroying the Celtic Guardian and the rest of Yugi's lifepoints.

Yugi didn't seem to notice, only collapsing on the ground, making us run towards him in panic. When we reach him, we see the tears falling down his cheeks, landing on the ground making wet spots like stains on a shirt. Yugi started sputtering about something about almost losing control of his yami; something that shocked me to the core.

"What is he talking about?" Tristan asked, looking at me, Téa and Joey one at a time. I quickly explained to him about the spirits of the Millennium Items, mentally remembering my own as I talked, and when I finished, Yugi vowed never to duel again. Everyone was speechless and what Yugi had just said, until Kaiba spoke up and called Yugi weak. Téa, mad at the insults, countered that Kaiba had lost his heart. But he didn't seem affected by Téa's insult as he collected his ten starchips, straightening himself before heading towards Pegasus' castle.

I looked up at Kaiba's retreating back, giving him a glare that Bakura would've been proud of. Then I turned sad eyes toward Yugi, who was getting offered some starchips from Joey, but ignored him, lost in his own world. Joey was getting frustrated, and then stuffed the starchips back into his glove. We decided to take Yugi back to the castle gates, hoping there was someway to get Yugi back to the dueling self he was.

When we got there, we set Yugi down, who still had tears staining his eyes and cheeks. Joey looked down at Yugi, unreadable emotion displayed on his face. Then I noticed something behind Joey and pointing to it, making the others look to the direction I was pointing at.

It was Mai, coming towards us, a smug look on her face as she walked. When she reached us, she looked down at the crying Yugi, and asked us what happened. Téa gave a brief summary of what had happened half an hour ago and Mai looked shocked to learn that Yugi had lost a duel.

Mai offered some sympathy and six of her starchips, holding it out in her palm. Joey gawked at it, asking Mai if she was crazy to give Yugi over half of her earned starchips. Mai grinned at Joey, and held up her dueling glowed, the wristband twinkling with the starchips decorated around it in the sun. She happily announced that the starchips she was giving Yugi were spares and held them out, waiting for the midget to take them.

But he didn't, and pretty soon Mai got mad, changing her mind about giving Yugi her extra starchips. She started insulting him; much like Kaiba did, but promptly stopped when Téa challenged her to a duel. I looked at her like she was crazy.

"Are you sure, Téa? If you don't want to, I can-" I started, reaching for my deck inside my pocket. But was cut off when Téa interrupted.

"I'm sure. I'm going to win this duel and get those starchips for Yugi." Téa announced, turning around to smile at me. But something in those eyes said something else; like she was challenging me to something. I gave a small glare at her, my hand letting go of my deck and having it drop in my pocket.

"Well then," I said, trying to keep my calm composure, "If you want to, that's fine with me."

I walked away from her, muttering something under my breath like 'showoff', 'flirt', 'Yugi' and 'I'll show her...'. After taking a couple steps, I turned around, watching as she jumped onto her platform, secretly hoping she would fall. But she didn't, and I had to give a sad sigh, but resumed watching the duel.

It started out one-sided. Mai was easily out maneuvering Téa by a long shot, and it was clear who would win. But as the duel got deeper, Téa was being smarter about her moves, protecting her only monster on the field, Shining Friendship, with a trap card she had placed. She powered up her weaker monster with magic cards, getting somewhat discouraged when Mai activated De-Spell and took away her power up.

The nervousness feeling was returning. I was beginning to zone out of the duel, and that feeling couldn't help but return. I clutched my stomach, mentally wondering what was wrong as I returned my mind to the duel.

It was then that Yugi decided to get back to reality, and we were all happy. He concentrated on the duel, already catching about what was happening so far. In the end, Téa had won with an impressive combo, and she rejoiced as her platform went back on the ground, starchips in hand. She hands them to Yugi, who thanks her and gives her a smile, making me look away in anger.

Everybody begins to return back to Pegasus' castle, and I casually put my hands in my pockets. I felt four small objects, cool to the touch, and took them out. Four starchips lay in my hand and I felt myself redden. I had forgotten about the starchips I had won earlier in the competition. I gave a little sigh and stuck them back into my pocket, deciding to forget about them altogether. So I looked up, smiling a little, and running to catch up to the others.

-o-

When we got there, Joey, Yugi and Mai stuck their ten starchips into the slot and opened the door, walking inside. Tristan, Téa and I slowly followed them, but were stopped by the guard, who couldn't allow us in because we didn't even have dueling gloves, much less the ten starchips required. I fingered the starchips in my pocket, mentally wondering what to do, when Mai came to our rescue. She flirted with the guard, allowing us to sneak through when his attention came off us and onto her. We closed the door behind us, locking the guard out, who started banging against the metal door.

We slowly walk through the long halls, admiring how fancy and professional the castle looked. We reached a room with a dueling arena, where we were surprised to see Kaiba on one side of it. Bandit Keith is on the ledge where we are, looking down at Kaiba and waiting for someone.

Pegasus walked on the floor to the platform on his side of the arena, taking out his deck and putting it in the appropriate place. He taunted Kaiba, whose stony appearance didn't change a bit at all. Pegasus said something an audience watching and waved his hand towards us, directing Kaiba's attention to the ledge. He seemed surprised that Yugi was there, and when I glanced at Pegasus, he seemed pleased about something.

Kaiba challenged white haired man to a duel with his new dueling technology; the one he had used to duel Joey with. Pegasus whined about not knowing how to use it, but agreed to it; but only if he had let Mokuba duel in his place. Kaiba seemed shocked, but in the end, agreed to duel using the arena.

The duel started, and Kaiba ignored Yugi's warnings about the Millennium Eye. It was dead even, but it was clear that Pegasus was just toying with his opponent. Kaiba was shocked when Pegasus began reading all of his moves. So he came up with a strategy, discarding all the cards in his hand and drawing a card, playing the Blue Eyes White Dragon in attack mode.

But even that wasn't enough, and in the end, Kaiba had lost. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see Pegasus lock the loser's soul into a card. I didn't want to see it; I didn't want to see his soulless body, because it reminded me of Bakura. The nervousness came back, stronger than ever, and I began to quiver. I was still quivering when we headed to the banquet, but not many people seemed to notice.

During my state of fear, Pegasus' tournament co-ordinater told them about the two cards that will allow them to enter the finals. He also had the matches all paired up, and let us eat a bit before retiring into our rooms. I slowly got up, making my way to my room slowly.

-o-

The uneasiness was growing bigger with every passing second now. I headed slowly to my room, only sticking my head in as if something was going to be waiting there for me. I slowly let out the breath I'd been holding. No one was there. I entered the room, gently sitting on the bed as I closed my eyes. My body moved back, landing on the soft mattress as I immediately felt relaxed.

_Amane..._

My eyes snapped open, my heart pounding hard against my chest. Did I just imagine that? Or did I really hear **his** voice?

_I'm back._

Silence.

He emerged in his ghost-like form, smirking at me as fear began to stab me inside. I inched back, into the wall, gazing fearfully at him as he headed toward me. He leaned towards me, his face hovering only centimeters away from mine. He grinned at me, before leaning more to whisper in my ear.

"Miss me?"

He raised a hand, running a finger against my pale skin, sending shivers down my spine. He had seemed to forgotten what had happened only a couple days ago, but I was wrong. Suddenly the finger was replaced by cold metal, and I felt the blood drain from my face.

"This is what you get for disobeying my orders." He said angrily.

**Knock, knock, knock.**

Bakura disappeared instantly, the knife falling onto the bed, leaving me unharmed. In a blind panic, I took the knife and hid it under the sheets, hoping that whoever was at the door wouldn't notice.

"Amane? Open up." A muffled voice came from the door.

"I'm coming!" I replied back, turning around to make sure the knife was hidden safely. Then I headed towards the door and opened it, lightly surprised when I saw Téa and Tristan at the door. I cocked my head, sending them a mental message asking why they were here.

"We think Pegasus was cheating in that duel with Kaiba." Téa said, Tristan nodding along with her.

"I see..." I replied, my heart thumping in nervousness against my chest, "And what are you doing here?"

"Well," Tristan started, "We were wondering if you wanted to come with us to see how he cheated."

I sighed, knowing that if I stayed here, Bakura would come after me. But a part of me wanted to just stay here and rest from the busy day. I nodded my head, showing them I was going to go with them, and they smiled at me. A small smile appeared on my face, disappearing as soon as it appeared, and I followed the pair through the dark corridors of the castle.

Soon, we found ourselves in the large room with the dueling arena. I closed my eyes briefly, not wanting to look down that empty space in the middle of the room that seemed to go down to the core of the earth. When I opened them, I tried to not look in that space of nothingness as we inspected the room of clues that Pegasus was cheating.

It seemed like a lucky chance that there was a stream of light coming from the ceiling, but then I realized that it wasn't any ordinary light. I looked up, noticing that the source of the light came from a hole in the wall, and that the light was just the moonlight. I opened my mouth to speak, but apparently the others had already noticed the fact. Tristan jumped up onto the side of the dueling arena that Kaiba was in, and held up an imaginary card. To our amazement, the 'card' that Tristan was holding up was being illuminated by the moon's stream of light.

Tristan jumped off, and somehow climbed up to the hole, peering through it.

"There seems to be some sort of tower lined up with the whole." He called out, leaping down from the wall.

"Then maybe one of Pegasus' goons was spying at Kaiba's cards through a telescope in the tower!" Téa exclaimed, her voice echoing within the room.

"Well then, let's go to that tower!" Tristan announced, punching the air with his fist. I nodded and followed them out of the room.

-o-

We wandered around the dark hall. Tristan was leading the way, peering around every corner for any guards. Téa was in the middle, not really doing anything but keeping quiet and looking around, scared yet determined. I was at the end, occasionally glancing behind me incase someone was following us. Tristan cracked a joke about how the guards were around every corner as he swiftly knocked out one of them; our tenth of the night.

"Being on the inside is just way too tough..." Téa whispered as she looked out a window. I looked outside it too, and an idea came rushing into my head. I motioned for the two of them to gather around, and I quickly told them my plan. They both smiled and agreed to it, and we quickly set to work.

-o-

"Why am I at the front?!" Téa complained loudly, receiving a 'shush' from me and a glare from Tristan.

"Can you quiet down?" Tristan whispered, annoyance dripping in his tone, "You're up front because you might fall."

"I would never- AH!" Téa scoffed, which quickly turned into a scream as her grip on the rope slipped, causing her to fall on top of Tristan. I giggled as the brown haired girl glared at Tristan, who had a 'Told you so' look on his face. She got back up onto the rope, and we continued climbing.

As we neared the window, we saw that it was open, and we crawled through it. The room was dark, and together, we looked for the light switch. I turned around, automatically noticing the large painting on the wall, cast with shadows. I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly, the lights turned on; casting light onto the darkness, and making us shield our eyes from the sudden light. When our eyes were adjusted to the light, we looked back at the painting, our faces displaying a look of awe. We were quickly mesmerized by the beauty of the painting; which was a portrait of a young woman, clothed with beautiful shades of red.

"I haven't seen her before... have you?" Téa asked, looked at the two of us. I shook my head, while Tristan murmured a 'no'. She mentioned something about seeing her in the dining room too, so she must've been important to Pegasus. We began talking about what her identity could've been, when suddenly the sound of Pegasus' voice breaks through the quiet noise. My heart leapt to my throat as I turned around, seeing Pegasus, who was scolding us like children. Tristan said that we had known about Pegasus' cheating ways, but he denied it and his Millennium Eye glowed, making me see black.

-o-

I slowly slid my eyes open, automatically noticing that we weren't in the tower. I blinked, chasing away the blurriness before I took a good look around the room. Hieroglyphics covered almost every inch of the wall, and in the room ahead, there seemed to be something going on. Téa whispered to us about the picture we had seen for the third time that day, but it didn't help much. As we watched the people perform their ritual, I heard Bakura say something about a shadow game.

One of the guys had seemed to have lost, and a bright light engulfed him before he slumped onto the ground. The winner took off his hood, revealing himself as Pegasus, who turned to look at the three of us.

He explained to us about the shadow games, and that every soul he sends to the Shadow Realm, his eye gets stronger. He announced that he would now seal us three into the Shadow Realm, and that he'll receive more benefits than sending a normal person to the Shadows. I realized that he was talking about the Millennium Ring, and he confirmed it before he got his Eye ready to send us to the Shadow Realm.

My Millennium Ring glowed with a powerful bright light, and I turned around to glance at Téa and Tristan, who seemed shocked at what was happening right now. I closed my eyes, secretly wishing that they wouldn't be harmed, even if it was just Téa, and then my mind went numb.

-o-

I grinned maliciously, happy to be back into the physical world. I looked up at Pegasus, who seemed momentarily shocked at my appearance.

"You'll never get your hands on all the Millennium Items," I said, sneering at him, "For I will be the holder of all of them."

My Millennium Ring glowed as I willed it to erase the memories of Téa and Tristan, making it appear that the entire night was just a dream. I closed my eyes as it sent us back into our rooms, giving the girl control of her body.

-o-

I opened my eyes slowly. Where was I?

I found it strange that I was back into my room, and sat up in my bed. I looked down at the Ring, holding it gently between my fingers. A small, crystal-like tear formed in the corners of my eyes as I closed them, the tears sliding down my cheek and onto the bed sheets.

He really **was** back.

And there wasn't anything I could do about it.

---ooo---

Like it? I hope you guys do. I hope to have the next chapter up by next week. Until then, have fun read this one. And reviews, please!

Oh, go read the new stories I put up.


	12. Plan

I'm back! Sorry 'bout the late update... but at least I _did_ update. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.

---**Plan**---

I hadn't slept at all last night; I was too afraid he would come out and haunt my dreams. I had even wondered if I should go watch Yugi's match or not, because Bakura seemed to like being in contact with Yugi. I shuddered at the thought of what Bakura would do to my friend, if he had ever gotten his hands on him. And although this seemed like the greatest reason **not** to go to Yugi's match, something just as powerful countered it.

Téa.

I never really did like her. I think it was because we had both liked Yugi; we thought of each other as rivals, constantly fighting over Yugi's attention. Poor, naïve little Yugi didn't have a clue about our hidden feelings, and always had this confused look on his face when he saw us glaring at each other. I laughed softly, as if not to disturb my sleeping counterpart. I was beginning to think that I didn't even have a chance with Yugi, since Téa had known him longer than I did.

But I also had things that Téa didn't know how to do.

'Like dueling...' I thought as I took out a comb from my backpack, giving my hair a few good licks with it. I stared into the mirror, wondering who Yugi would prefer; a quiet, shy girl like me, or a loud, optimistic and outgoing girl, like Téa.

"Amane, are you ready?" A voice called out from the door, making me jump a little.

"Almost!" I replied, grabbing my jacket and slipping it on, the blue tint of it matching the color on my skirt. I took a look at the mirror, making sure I looked presentable before opening the door, giving a small smile at the other three. We headed to Yugi's room and throw the door open, just in time to see Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glow as he changed to his counterpart.

We all beamed at him, who grinned back and together, we headed out to the arena. I couldn't help but notice how close Téa was to Yugi and inside, I seethed with anger. But that feeling disappeared in an instant, for we reached the arena and I grinned when Yugi and Joey departed from us as we walked to the balcony.

We waited and soon the arena doors opened, spitting out the four finalists. Pegasus started saying his speech, but I didn't catch a word he said because I was tuned out of it. When the first duel was announced – Yugi verses Mai – my mind was back in reality. The other two duelists stepped back through the doors and awaited their turn.

As Yugi and Mai stepped up to duel, I called out to them, waving to catch the multi-colored hair teen's attention. He looked up at me, giving me a small smile, and I managed to catch a glimpse of his pained eyes before looking back at Mai. I narrowed my eyes at Yugi's current emotion, ignoring the heated glare I got from Téa.

Joey suddenly came up, shocking the rest of us. He grinned sheepishly, stating that he wanted a bird's eye view of the duel. We all smiled back, and then turned to watch the duel unfold.

The duel started and we all cheered Yugi on. But it was obvious that Yugi's mind or heart wasn't completely there, and that worried me. His moves were not thought through enough, and they kept getting destroyed by Mai's combo; Mirror Wall to lower Yugi's monster's attack points, and using her Harpy Lady to attack the weakened monster. It looked like Yugi was going to lose without a fight. I looked away, not wanting to watch the end of the duel. I also tried to shut out the noise that was currently streaming through my ears.

It didn't work though. The sound went through my mental barriers, and I heard bits and pieces of conversation. When it processed through my brain, I realized that it was a female voice – Mai's voice – talking to Yugi. I turned around, just in time to see Yugi's Dark Magician being destroyed by Harpy Lady, bringing his lifepoints down to 300.

I heard Joey muse out loud, wondering if he had beaten Mai out of luck. But she replied to the blonde's question, saying that he knew something she didn't and then explains what she meant. She turns to Yugi, asking if he had faced his fears. I glanced at him, watching as his face went deep into thought. He closed his eyes, ignoring the stares from everybody in the room.

When he opened them, his eyes shined with determination and confidence. His Millennium Puzzle glowed a little, enough for me to see it, and he started making his comeback.

He played Brain Control, taking over Mai's Pet Dragon. Her face contorted to an expression of light confusion, and she commented on how her monster wouldn't attack her Harpies. Yugi grinned, replying that he wasn't intending to attack her. Mai's confusion grew bigger and Yugi's grin wider as he placed Catapult Turtle on the field. He launched Mai's Dragon toward her Mirror Wall, destroying both things and lowering Mai's lifepoints.

The blond looked a little shocked as our group on the balcony cheered, ecstatic that Yugi would make such a great comeback. Mai narrowed her eyes as she thought about her next move, probably about whether she should attack or not. If she did, she would win the duel. But Yugi's face down card could be a trap, most likely depriving Mai of the rest of her lifepoints.

In the end, she decided to not attack, inspired by Yugi's urging and her judgment. But she played Elegant Egotist to multiply her one harpy to three, letting Yugi take his turn after. He grinned, revealing his face down card; Monster Recovery. Mai is shocked as he took his hand and re-shuffled it into his deck, drawing a new hand. He looked at it, and his eyes narrow, sending needles of worry towards me.

He played Mystical Elf in defense mode, Mai's Shadow of Eyes card not being able to lure the elf into attack mode, and waited as Mai drew a card. She played Monster Reborn, bringing her Dragon back to life, which was powered up to 2900 attack points. She attacked Yugi's elf, shattering it into pieces before his eyes.

A look of worry crossed Yugi's face, knowing that the next card insured whether he would win or lose this duel. I felt the occupants of the room hold their breaths as Yugi drew his next – and perhaps last – card. When he glanced at it, he smiled and announced that he would now play the 'Swords of Revealing Light' Magic Card. We all cheered as light trapped Mai's monsters within its cage, making the owner of them annoyed.

"You're just delaying the inevitable, Yugi." Mai stated. But he replied that he would win as he played 'Kuriboh', receiving a laugh from the blonde and ignoring the evil glares she got from the fur ball. She drew a card and let Yugi take his turn, unable to do anything because of the magic card.

The second turn passed by, Yugi playing Monster Reborn to bring 'Gaia the Fierce Knight' back onto the field. And just as quickly, the third passed by. It was Yugi's turn now; his last chance to win the duel before Mai does so. His hand hovered above his deck, hesitating to draw the card. A small, simple calmness seemed to wash over him, and he drew the card, taking a long look at it.

No emotion played in Yugi's eyes as he placed down the card he just drew – Black Luster Ritual. He sacrificed his two monsters and summoned Black Luster Soldier, a monster who had 3000 attack points. He attacked Mai's Dragon, bringing her lifepoints down to 750 and leaving her disheartened. She surrendered, walking out of the arena. We all cheered when Yugi won his duel, and even more so when they announced that it was time for Joey to duel. He looked more than a little freaked at the thought of having to duel so soon, and voiced it aloud.

"Don't worry Joey! You'll be fine." Téa and I chanted in unison, glaring at each other afterward and then turning out faces so we wouldn't look at the other. Sweat drops appeared on the boy's faces, and Tristan reminded Joey that he was going up against the Intercontinental Champion, which left Joey in a more freaked-out mode.

He walked away from the balcony and headed to the arena just as Yugi began to walk out of his dueling platform. We all waited, excitement building up. But still, no one came out. It seemed like forever before Joey came out to his respective place, even though it was only five minutes. Bandit Keith, on the other hand, was sitting on the couch, lounging around lazily when he was asked to show his entry card, which he did.

But Joey was having difficulty finding his. He dug around in his pockets, panic rising with failed attempt to locate the card. Luckily, the tournament manager informed Joey that he would have five minutes to get his card and come back here or else he'll be disqualified. Distraught, Joey rushed off, and we all gave a sad sigh, hoping that the blonde would be able to find the card that Yugi had just given him last night.

A minute passed... then another. Soon, the clock was ticking closer and closer to five minutes. Hope dissolved slowly, leaving only a little to hold on to. But as the clock ticked to five, Joey came in, holding up his entry card with a great sense of pride.

And so, the duel began. It was kind of uninteresting. They played tug of war with who had the upper hand, slowly chipping away at each other's lifepoints. But in the end, even though it seemed like Joey was going to lose with Bandit Keith's combo of Slot Machine and Seven Completed, he pulled through, grabbing victory with his Graverobber Card.

But it seemed like Bandit Keith wasn't amused at his loss, for he claimed that the duel didn't count because Joey's card wasn't his own. The blonde admitted that it was Mai's, but asked how he knew. Keith quieted, not able to answer as something clicked in my mind. Pegasus confirmed my suspicions, saying that it was quite clear that Keith had stole Joey's card. And he also said that he was cheating during the match, for he had Seven Completed cards up his sleeve.

Bandit Keith denied it, protesting that it was all a lie, and he would need proof. But Pegasus ignored him, ordering that his bodyguards take the enraged man away, and they grab a hold of him. He was even angrier now, shaking them off and jumping up into the balcony where Pegasus sat calmly in his seat. I didn't know how anyone could be so calm when Bandit Keith took out a gun, pointing it at Pegasus' head, and demanding that he hand over the prize money. But that was answered, because Pegasus pushed a hidden switch, the floor underneath Keith collapsing and making him fall inside.

We all looked in shock, just pointlessly staring at where Keith had been. We just caught the tournament manager's words; to take a ten minute break before the finals would begin.

-o-

Yugi and Joey left to talk to their own, leaving me, Téa, and Tristan at the balcony. Currently, Téa and I were having glaring contest, poor Tristan being stuck in the middle of it, a clueless look plastered on his face. He made a comment about how tough it will be to watch Yugi and Joey duel each other, adding that it must be hard on them to duel each other. We both glanced up from our little contest, nodding in agreement.

"It's easier just for them to flip a coin or something like that. I don't want to see them battle..." Téa said, shaking her head with a look of sadness in her eyes.

"At least one of them will be able to face Pegasus." Tristan added, trying to brighten up the situation. It didn't work though, so we just stood there in silence, waiting for another to say something; anything.

But no one did, and so we just had to watch as Yugi and Joey stepped out to the dueling arena, confident smiles shining upon their faces. Pegasus came out, giving both finalists a hearty congratulations, finishing with a 'I look forward to watching you at your best' before he sat back down.

Joey started first, thanking Yugi for helping him through out the tournament and telling him they'll always be friends no matter what. Yugi replied that he deserved being here, and then they both vow to do there best. After that, the duel started.

We had a hushed conversation while we watch Yugi summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode.

"There's so much at stake..." Téa said sadly, "It's so unlike the duels we had back in Domino."

"I hope they can both win somehow..." Tristan wished and I agreed, hoping that they would both get what they came here to get. Joey summoned Giltia the Dark Knight, destroying Yugi's monster and bringing his lifepoints to 1550.

They matched each other move for move, trying to push the other to do their best. Téa made a comment about it, and I had to admit that I agreed with her. It seemed like Joey had stole the duel from Yugi when he summoned the Black Skull Dragon, a powerful beast with enough attack points to take on Kaiba's prized dragon. But Yugi countered it with his Dark Magician and Magical Hats combo.

Yugi won the duel in the end, the Time Wizard's magic changing his powered up Dark Magician to the Dark Sage. He had used Monster Reborn to bring Dark Skull Dragon, who had been destroyed earlier, and wiped out the rest of Joey's lifepoints.

We all headed down to the dueling arena, congratulating Yugi on his victory, and confused as to why Joey was crying tears of joy. Later, we left Yugi and headed back to the balcony. But as I walked, something pounded in my head, and I grasped it tightly. The others looked at me, asking if I was ok. I replied I was, and told them to go ahead and I would catch up with them soon. Unconvinced, they did, not before giving me a last glance as they walked up the stairs.

I rubbed my temples hard in an attempt to stop the pounding within my head. But it wouldn't go away, and I kneeled against the floor, trying to stop myself from screaming out loud; trying to stop myself from disappearing into the darkness.

But it was too late.

-o-

I snickered, picking myself up from the floor, taking my time as I did so. Taking over the girl's body was easy. I walked up the stairs and onto the balcony, giving a fake smile and a little wave when I saw the Pharaoh's friends. I strolled over to them, noticing that the girl in the group kept glaring at me for reasons unknown.

Apparently, the other two in the group noticed too, and striked up a conversation about the duel between the Pharaoh and Pegasus.

"Pegasus stacked the deck in his favor, so I think the Pha- I mean Yugi will have a hard time beating him." I said, trying to make sure my voice sounded as close to the girl's as possible. Damn that girl and her quietness. Listening wasn't a big virtue for me, so I tuned out of the conversation and began going over my plan.

"Amane!" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to look at the brown haired boy, mustering the will not to death glare him to the next century.

"Yes?" I asked as sweetly as I could. It sickened me.

He motioned for me to come with him, and so we slowly walked back down into the stairs and into another room.

"Listen Amane," He started, "I'm going to look for Mokuba and Kaiba. Don't tell Tea or Joey, okay?"

I had the urge to just brush him off. But the idea to capture the**empty** bodies intrigued me. If I had a body all to myself, I wouldn't have to worry about some dumb hikari to go against me. I hid an evil grin.

"Sure, Tristan."

-o-

"Where'd Tristan go?" Was the question I received when I was back onto the balcony, where the other two were watching Yugi's duel start. Annoying brats. I replied that he wandered off somewhere, earning the comment that he probably went to the washroom from Joey.

I decided to watch the Pharaoh's duel, lacking anything to do at the moment. But as it began and went on, I found my attention towards the duel getting thinner and thinner, until I stopped paying attention altogether. I stifled back a yawn, trying to make sure Téa nor Joey suspected anything suspicious as I mindlessly watched Pegasus stomp the Pharaoh to the ground multiple times.

"If Mokuba gets away, what will we tell Pegasus?"

My Millennium Ring glowed dully and I looked up, gaze caught upon one of Pegasus' goons, who was talking on the phone. It seemed like spiked-head boy done his job, rescuing Mokuba. Now it was my turn to do my job.

I turned, hearing the blonde ask where I was going. I looked at him, giving a small smile and replying that I was going to look for Tristan because he had been gone for a long time. Wheeler mused, wondering what could be more important than this match. I told him that I would ask him when I find him and then I turned back and ran into the dungeon.

I willed the Millennium Ring to guide me through; to lead me to the two. When I arrived, it was just in time, because they were currently surrounded by a bunch of guards. They pointed their guns at me, threatening to shoot if I didn't leave. I just smirked, taking out my deck and drawing the top card; Chained Energy. Shadows grew around me as I activated it, rings of energy appearing and pinning the guards against the walls.

I glanced at the brown-haired boy, who seemed to be more than a little confused. Ignorant mortal. But at least he ran away, so I followed him. As we ran, he turned to me, asking where the magic card had come from. I snapped at him to keep running, patience wearing thin as my fingers itch to just remove the smaller boy's body from him.

We ran up a flight of stairs, opening the door and nearly plummeting to our deaths as we gazed down at the tops of trees, barely able to see the dirt or grass through the leafy branches. My 'partner' gave a small sigh of relief, having been just saved from certain death, and turned back to go back down the stairs. Silhouettes of different people made their way, and spiky head made a noise of disproval, stating that we have no way of getting out. I snorted.

"No worries. I'll just get some help from the Shadow Realm." I calmly said, pulling out my deck and flipping through the cards, grabbing the ones I'd be needing. One of the guards called out to us, saying to give up the unconscious boy. I smirked, telling them that they were foolish mortals and that it was far from over. I summoned Man-Eater Bug, who materialized right in front of us and headed for the guards. I heard bullets being shot, making marks at the wall behind my monster, who jumped at them and pinned them down.

"Present-day humans are so much fun to terrorize." I said, turning around to grin at the brown-haired boy, who disagreed with me. He replied that he was one of those present-day humans and he asked who I was.

"I'm someone with great power..."

Morphing Jar came out of his card, swallowing up the guards and sending them to the card graveyard, where they would get a nice visit from the Reaper himself. I turned to the shocked boy, saying that I had no patience for fools to get in the way.

"Who are you, really? And what do you want? I know you're the one Yugi sent to the Shadow Realm." He managed to say.

"That wouldn't have happened if that **girl** didn't betray me," I snapped at him, "So now, I want a new body. An empty body... the body you're carrying right now. So hand him over, or suffer the same fate as the others did."

The boy thought about the situation and what to do. Stupid boy. What was there to think of? All he had to do was hand over the body. But then, I heard his agreement, throwing the smaller boy's body towards me. I went to catch it, but something hit me in the stomach, sending me crumpling onto the ground. I looked up, just in time to see a shoe flying to the side of my head, making me see black.

---ooo---

Review, then read my other stories!

... Yes, that _was_ a plug.


	13. Gone? Or is He?

Wow! I didn't expect to get this chapter done so soon. Well, it _is_ a bit shorter than the last two.

A few responses to the reviews I got:

Pairings include, so far, the Téa/Yugi/Amane love triangle. As for the Bakura/Amane pairing... I'm still 'considering' it. The pairings will elaborate as the story series go on.

And no, the last chapter wasn't longer than the chapter before it. This chapter is shorter than the others because I only have two or three episodes to go through.

So, read, and enjoy!

**---Gone... or is it?---**

I woke up.

Ouch, I also had a headache. I rubbed the side of my head gently. I also felt tired, but wasn't I just asleep? I didn't even know where I was. I opened my eyes, gazing around the room I was in. Except, I wasn't in a room; I was in a hallway. A hallway?

I got up, suddenly noticing the lightness around my chest area. I peered down, getting the feeling that something was missing. But, this something didn't make me feeling depressed that I had lost it. It made me happy, as if something had been lifted off my back, even if I did lost it.

The Millennium Ring was gone.

And so was Bakura. No trace of him anywhere, and I was even more happier. I walked down the lengthy hallway, wondering where in the castle – if I was in the castle – I was in.

"Hey, Amane!" I heard someone call out. I turned around, gazing into the happy faces of Yugi, Téa (I knew it was fake), Joey and Tristan. I waved at them, rushing over as they asked me where I had been.

"I don't know," I answered sheepishly, "I just woke up in this hallway."

Tristan promptly explained how he had gotten rid of Bakura and the Millennium Ring. When he finished, I reached up and hugged him, thanking him so many times, over and over again. But eventually, I was pulled off, and words couldn't even begin to express my gratitude towards the ridding of Bakura, because that meant I was free from his harm.

But even so, I still couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. After all, he looked like my brother. I gave a little sigh. Ryou was so kind, always smiling; always helping. But seeing Bakura shattered my innocent image of my big brother, and sometimes I even wonder if **he** was Ryou.

I glanced around, asking if the others knew the time and, unfortunately, Téa told me it was almost three. Almost three? I wondered what Bakura did during that time and I hoped that it wasn't much. But, knowing him, I knew that there always 'wasn't much' with Bakura. What he exactly did? I don't know, so I just had to keep walking until we reached the balcony. I ran ahead, trying to get out of this confining hallway because I felt trapped and scared.

Mokuba was there, appearing to stir a little when I stepped in front of him and peered closely. His eyes flickered, finally choosing to open themselves and reveal Mokuba's confused looking eyes to the world. Yugi and the others decided to come to the balcony, running in like maniacs. I gave a small smile, knowing that they were chasing after me the moment I had dashed off.

"He's coming around." I said to them as little gasps of air came from the slightly tired group.

"Who'd have thought Pegasus would keep his word?" Tristan said in surprise, the rest of us watching as Yugi asked if the smaller boy was ok and if he could get off this island.

"Not without Seto!" Mokuba protested, who also asked where he was. The rest of us looked at each other, clueless appearances on our faces. The tournament manager took that time to come out, telling us that Pegasus won't be able to come due to a certain illness that he had suddenly came down with. I briefly wondered if Bakura had anything to do with that, and when I glanced at Yugi, he appeared to be thinking the same thing.

Joey voiced his opinion to him, saying that it was just an excuse to avoid the rewarding of the prizes. But Pegasus' goon replied that the prizes would still be rewarded and told Yugi that all three souls had been released, and giving him the three million dollar prize money, along with a card that Pegasus hand-painted himself – The Ties of Friendship.

Yugi grinned, and gave the prize money to Joey, who looked like he was about to cry in happiness. The tournament manager kicked us out of the castle in the nicest way possible – suggesting that we'd leave. And so, we did. Yugi announced happily that he couldn't wait to see his grandpa again.

We walked out of the castle, seeing Kaiba standing there calmly in the sunset. Mokuba ran into his arms, hugging him tightly as sobs racked his body. We heard Joey sniffle beside us, and I giggled.

"Thanks... Yugi, Kaiba said a little sheepishly. "He means everything to me."

He said something about their last duel not really conclusive. So, they'll duel again, watching as Yugi nodded in agreement. The Kaiba brothers turned around, heading to their helicopter as Joey discovers in shock that all the boats had left. Suddenly shocked too by the news, the rest of us started running towards Kaiba, asking if we could get a ride back to Domino with him. He agreed, hesitating as he did so, and we all climbed into the helicopter.

So, when the helicopter took off into the air; when the scenery of the island was below us and speeding along; I didn't notice the little changes that occurred as I gazed happily out the windows.

I didn't notice my pockets getting heavy, being weighted down by something.

I didn't notice when the Millennium Ring materialized underneath my jacket.

I didn't notice... until it was too late.

**---The End---**

This marks the end of the first part of the series. Yay! I finished a chaptered story.

This series will go a mini hiatus until I can finish the first couple chapters to the Battle City arc. Expect the first chapter of **Another Bakura: Manipulation **to go up on mid-December. In the meantime, I will be putting up the first chapters of a Yu-gi-oh humor story.

Thankies to all the reviewers and all the ones who will review.


End file.
